Drivers’ licenses go digital in India

Work & Lifestyle

Drivers are being encouraged to save their licenses and vehicle registration documents in Digilocker, the Indian government’s online cloud storage system.

Smart cities require connected governments, and projects around the world are taking up the challenge. In the Philippines, real-time big data is being used to manage traffic, and in Chicago, sensors track the city’s general wellbeing. In India, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is encouraging drivers to use the Digilocker app to go paper-free when driving. Digilocker is the government’s secure cloud storage system being used to help reduce administrative and paper costs.

To set up a Digilocker account, citizens need a smartphone and their official biometric identity card. Once users are set up, they can access and share their online documents via the Digilocker app. Every citizen has 1GB of storage space available, for a variety of official documents. Current paper versions can be uploaded and e-signed, and new documents are issued electronically directly to each Digilocker account.

Does the challenge now lie in finding ways to link various smart initiatives for truly connected cities?